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by TashaMockingjay



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Harry Potter - Freeform, Marauders Era (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 13:49:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18235736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TashaMockingjay/pseuds/TashaMockingjay
Summary: After a summer away from Hogwarts and the Wizarding World, Lily Evans is excited to host her two best friends for the weekend, but little does she know they have a surprise up their sleeves for her...





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**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> This is one of the many Jily oneshots I will be posting, so please let me know if you enjoy!  
> I know James and Lily didn't start dating until their 7th year in canon, but I decided to have them start the relationship a little earlier for the sake of the summer.

It had been a quiet evening at the O’Briens Tea Rooms, and Lily was thankful for it. Her usual flock of elderly customers had eaten their fill by lunch time, and apart from the occasional passer-by fancying a macaroon, she’d spent the remainder of the day relatively unbothered. Sat at the desk with a mug of tea, she opened the notebook in front of her and leafed through the letters it housed fondly.

James’ letters were kept separate, tucked neatly at the very back. Lily refused to admit it to herself, but it wasn’t just the wizarding world she missed; it was one wizard in particular. She’d worried how their ‘relationship’ would fair over the holidays and hadn’t allowed herself to hope for anything, but…James had been wonderful. They wrote every other day; he’d send her her favourite sweets from Honeydukes, and she’d send back CD’s for him and Sirius to listen to. It was easy, almost as if they’d been this way their whole lives. He missed her too, something he wasn’t ashamed to say, which Lily found a comfort. He always signed his letters with “ _I’ll see you soon. _” and when she saw those words in his carefree scrawl, she could almost believe it. Another month felt far too long.__

____

Lily read over Mary’s most recent letter, triple checking the information she already knew for the fourth time. She and Marlene would be arriving by Portkey at 8 o clock, landing in the small woods about fifteen minutes away from Lily’s house.  
Smiling, she closed the notebook and stashed it back in her bag. The shop was mostly closed up, and she was excited to get home, so when April gave her the nod to sign out, she almost sprinted to the small office at the back of the tea room.

“April, you’re an angel, thank you- I’ll see you on Friday?” Lily bubbled as she fought her way into her coat. April laughed, and placed a large white box on the counter.

“Sure will, Hun. Here,” she pushed the box toward Lily, who gasped as she opened it. A delightful assortment of cakes and pastries had been assembled, including the lemon meringue tart that Lily was particularly fond of.

“Oh, you are the best!” Lily cried, darting around the counter to pull April into a grateful squeeze.

“Have fun with your friends, petal.” April offered warmly, patting her on the back. Lily took the box carefully and made her way toward the door, blowing April a kiss with her departing wave.

* * *

By 6:45, Lily’s patience had evaporated. She’d hardly touched the lasagna her mum had made, and was almost vibrating with the excitement of seeing her friends. Even Petunia’s pointed absence couldn’t dampen her spirits, though she’d made it very clear that she would not be amicable. Lily didn’t care; she’d spent almost a month under Petunia’s upturned nose at this point, and if she was honest with herself, her sister’s coldness stopped stinging years ago.

Lily abandoned the presence of eating and sat on the bay windowsill, watching eagerly for any flicker of light from the distant woods.

Mrs Evans watched her from the bottom of the stairs. It made her sad, at times, that she had missed the little changes that were fully fledged by the time Lily came back home for the holidays. She knew where every line and expression on Petunia’s face had come from, but Lily, who had always been such an open book, was getting harder to read with each school year.

“Lily, dear, why don’t you go and double check everything is ready in the spare room?” Mrs Evans suggested as she climbed the stairs, resting a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. Lily lent into the touch, still watching out the window.

“Marls and Mary said they don’t mind if we put the camp beds up in my room.” Lily said. Mrs Evans smiled to herself.

“You never know, some guests might want their privacy.” Mrs Evans laughed, tapping Lily into motion.

“Come on, I want to make the best first impression with your friends.”

Lily reluctantly pulled her gaze away from the window, smiling as she headed up the stairs.

“You’ve already met them!” She complained, but her tone was good natured. Mrs Evans watched her dart into the spare room, her happiness infectious. Her eyes landed on the locked door formally labelled ‘Petunia’, and her smile took on a sad weight. Petunia had been shutting Lily out for years, but she seemed to be the one it was hurting the most.

* * *

7:58. Lily stood at the edge of the woods, almost vibrating with excitement. Her father, who had insisted on accompanying her, laughed.

"Calm down, pumpkin. They'll be here soon." He assured her. He was himself rather curious about this Portkey; Lily had explained it wouldn't look like anything special, an old boot or a tin can perhaps, but his delight at the glimpse of magic had not been dampened. 

"I know, I'm just worried in case I miss it. What if they go the wrong way?" she worried. Mr Evans gave a warm smile.

"You sent Mary a map of the woods, yes?"

"Yes, but-"

"And you told them how to get to the path?"

"Yes, but-"

"And if the calculations are correct, which we can assume they will be since this whole Portkey system is used a lot, they should be able to see us right here from where they land?"

" _Yes _, but..." Lily paused, frowning at her fathers laughter.__

__"But nothing, darling. You worry too much. It will be absolutely fine, and if they do get lost- which they _won't _," he hurried before Lily could interrupt him, "then we shall get in the car and go to pick them up. Okay?"___ _

Lily struggled to find another concern to voice, and after a moment, reluctantly smiled.  
"Okay." She checked her watch. 8:01.  


"Any minute now!" she exclaimed, scanning the treeline. There was a ripple of energy that caught Lily's sundress like a summer breeze, before a sudden blinding flash of blue light illuminated the woods. Lily shielded her eyes automatically from the glare, and her heart skipped when she finally looked at the group. Marlene was laughing, pushing herself off of a disgruntled looking figure in a leather jacket. Mary was still sat on the floor, but was obscured by the tall figure already standing. He smiled at her, adjusting the glasses perched on his nose.

"Alright Evans?" James smiled.

Lily’s smile was so wide her face ached. She didn’t register her father beaming next to her, or Marlene and Sirius’ laughter. She saw only James, and she didn’t take her eyes off him until she was in his arms. He spun her round effortlessly, and their joint laughter joined Marlene and Sirius’. 

“What are you doing here?” Lily asked him breathlessly, her arms still resting around his neck. He grinned down at her. 

“I told you I’d see you soon.” He replied. She could feel his heart pounding as he held her close. She hugged him tight, letting her body say what the words currently stuck in her throat could not. He laughed quietly as he embraced her back, pressing a gentle kiss to her head as he held her. 

“Alright you two, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m starving, and I was told there would be food.” Sirius pouted, appearing at James’ shoulder. Lily pulled away from James enough to shoot him a look, which he blew a kiss to in response.

“Ellen has sorted a wonderful spread for you kids.” Mr Evans replied, having finally walked over to join the group. James instantly held out a hand in greeting. 

“James Potter, sir. A pleasure to meet you, and thank you so much for having us.” 

Mr Evans took his hand and shook it firmly, clapping him on the back in approval. “Pleasure is all ours, son. Lily here hasn’t stopped going on about you all since she got home.” He winked at his daughter, who groaned and hid her face in James’ shoulder. 

“Dad, don’t start embarrassing me before we’ve even got to the house.” She whined, to the delight of her friends. 

“That’s my job, pumpkin. Come on.” Mr Evans laughed, leading the way back to the house. Lily said her hello’s to Mary and Marlene, excitedly swapping stories of the summer so far, with James’ hand resting lazily around her shoulder as they walked. 

With James at her side, she finally, truly, felt at home.


End file.
